Modular disconnecting switch

ABSTRACT

A switch including separate switch portions or parts which may be arranged or assembled in various combinations for outdoor or indoor use. The switch parts include a universal tongue adapted to act as a terminal pad and mounting piece for a switch and a universal jaw piece adapted to be assembled on the terminal pad portion of the tongue in various arrangements or configurations. A hinge piece is adapted to pivotally support a blade which may be moved in and out of engagement with the previously described jaw for providing electrical interconnection between circuits connected thereto. The hinge member may also be disposed on the terminal pad portion of the tongue. Electrical contact pieces may be provided as part of a switch, which include copper rivets the heads of which are encapsulated in tungsten alloy or similar material adapted to make repeated electrical contact operations under load conditions without rapid deterioration. When the contact pieces wear, the rivets may be removed and replaced with similar tungsten alloy encapsulated rivet members. This removes the need for complete disassembly of a switch member in the field and complete replacement of a blade. The previously mentioned jaw and hinge member may be mounted in various combinations or arrangements on separate terminal pads. The terminal pads may then be secured to various commercially available and standard support insulators.

United States. Patent H91 Cleaveland June4,1974

[ MODULAR DISCONNECTING SWITCH [75] Inventor: Charles M. Cleaveland,Irwin, Pa.

[73] Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corporation,

Pittsburgh, Pa.

122 Filed: Sept. 25, 1972 21 Appl.N0.1292,243

Primary Examiner-Robert K. Schaefer Assistant ExaminerWilliam J. SmithAttorney. Agent, or Firm-M. J. Moran [57] ABSTRACT A switch includingseparate switch portions or parts which may be arranged or assembled invarious combinations for outdoor or indoor use. The switch parts includea universal tongue adapted to act as a terminal pad and mounting piecefor a switch and a universal jaw piece adapted to be assembled on theterminal pad portion of the tongue in various arrangements orconfigurations. A hinge piece is adapted to pivotally support a bladewhich may be moved in and out of engagement with the previouslydescribed jaw for pro viding electrical interconnection between circuitsconnected thereto. The hinge member may also be dis posed on theterminal pad portion of the tongue. Electrical contact pieces may beprovided as part of a switch, which include copper rivets the heads ofwhich are encapsulated in tungsten alloy or similar material adapted tomake repeated electrical contact operations under load conditionswithout rapid deterioration. When the contact pieces wear, the rivetsmay be removed and replaced with similar tungsten alloy encapsulatedrivet members. This removes the need for complete disassembly of aswitch member in the field and complete replacement of a blade. Thepreviously mentioned jaw and hinge member may be mounted in variouscombinations or arrangements on separate terminal pads. The terminalpads may then be secured to various commercially available and standardsupport insulators.

7 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUH 419M 8 3814.887

' SHEET 1 0F 5 PATENTEDJMI 41974 sumaurs l MODULAR DISCONNECTING SWITCHCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The subject matter of thisapplication is related to that disclosed in US Pat. No. 3,691,335 issuedSept. 12, 1972 to C. M. Cleaveland and S. A. Milianowicz.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is related to disconnectswitches and, more particularly, to electrical disconnect switches whichmay be assembled from universal switch portions or parts. I

Electricaldisconnect switches often include three major parts orportions. The first portion isa jaw member having an integrally attachedterminal pad portion. The combination terminal pad portion and jawmember may be affixed or secured to an electrical insulator which alsoacts as a support for the jaw member. Spaced from the jaw member is anintegral hinge member and terminal pad which is likewise mounted on asimilar electrically'insulating support, such as a porcelain supportinsulator. Pivotally disposed upon the hinge member is a blade memberwhich may be rotated or actuated into and out of contact or engagementwith the jaw member for completing an electrical circuit. In the past,the jaw member, the hinge member and the blade member have beenfabricated according to predetermined design or construction standardsand found application in a limited and narrow area of use for eachpredesigned switch. For example, a hinge member ineluding an integralterminal pad may be precast from a bronze or a brass alloy having acertain predetermined shape and having a predetermined number of holesprovided therein for mounting on a predetermined type of electricalinsulator which may be known as the NEMA A-30 ins'ulator which has fourholes placed in the top thereof at 90 intervals with a 3 inch spacingbetween those holes separated by 180. A precast predetermined hingemember adapted for use on this kind of insulator would not be acceptablefor use on an NEMA A- insulator which has four holes displaced 90 andwhich has only 2 inch centers between those holes spaced 180 apart.Consequently, once a hinge member of the above type has been forged anddrilled, there is little or no interchangeability among differentswitches or with different insulators. A similar problem arises withrespect to jaw pieces which are also forged or cast of electricallyconducting material, such as copper. Another-common problem that existswith conventional, predesigned and predetermined switches for a limiteduse is that the number of blade pieces which may be disposed between thejaw and the hinge in an electrically conducting disposition depends uponthe previously determined configuration of the jaw and hinge or, said inanother way, if the jaw is formed to support two blades and three orfour blades are later desired to be disposed between the two circuits tobe interconnected, a new jaw and a new hinge piece must be installed orprovided on the insulators and a new blade member must be interposedbetween them. It would be advantageous therefore to be able to quicklychange the numberjand configuration of jaw and hinge pieces mounted onthe associated insulators to accommodate the possible changing power andvoltage requirements of electrical circuits to be interconnected. Itwould also be advantageous to maintain only a limited inventory ofuniversal switch parts at distribution centers rather than a large andcostly inventory of relatively limited and special purpose switchportions or parts. Another problem with electrical disconnect switcheslies in the fact that they are often required to open on a'fault or fullload current with an are drawn between the separating electricallyconducting portions as the opening operation progresses. The effect ofthe destructive arc is sometimes minimized by providing an arc chute andflicker blade. But, nevertheless, a signifi- Cant portion of currentflows between the jaw and the blade in the form of an electric are asthe blade is withdrawn. Although special arcing contacts are oftenprovided on these members, it is usually required that an entire blademust be discarded and replaced when the contacts provided thereon weardue to excessive arcing. This is because the special tip which isusually tungsten or a tungsten alloy must be brazed to the blade whichis usually cold drawn copper. It would be advantageous to have a tipwhich is not welded or brazed to the blade but which is fastened orsecured in a less permanent fashion, such as by riveting or bolting.Consequently, only the contact piece of the switch blade need be removedin the field and replaced by a similar contact portion. Until now, thiscould not be done be cause no suitable means had been found to attachthe tungsten tip to the heads of the rivets so that a riveting processcould be used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, aswitch is tongue-terminal pad member, a jaw member, a hinge member, anda blade mounted contact upon which an arc may impinge upon the openingof the switch on an electrical fault or on an electrical load. Otherparts include blade members and a blade mounted eye hook for use inopening and closing the switch member. An important feature of thedisclosedswitch construction is that single universal members may beused for a wide variety of switch structures by interconnecting thevarious members and spacing them on various insulators in a multitude oforientations or arrangements. For exam ple, in one embodiment, thepresent invention discloses a unitary tongue-terminal pad member whichmay be disposed upon any one of a number of different kinds ofelectrical insulators such as identified by the NEMA insulatordesignations A-IO, A-20, A-30, B-40 and 3-50. In addition, the pads maybe oriented at intervals on the previously described insulators tofacilitate electrical connection from different directions. Upon theterminal pad portion'of the previously described member may be disposedhinge members or jaws. In addition, the hinges or jaws may be disposedin pairs or singularly on the terminal pads. The tongue portion of theterminal pad member may be adapted to be connected to an externalelectrical circuit. Alternatively, the tongue portion of the combinationtongueterminal pad member may be removed before assembly to form asupport pad for a hinge or jaw requiring no separate terminal pad.

In certain embodiments of the invention, terminal pad-tongue members maybe disposed in tandem upon the same electrical insulator in the sameorientation or in different orientations for the interconnection ofmultiple circuits or of multiple conductors. The blade,

. 3' which is adapted to be pivotally mounted on a hinge or betweenhinge members may have disposed on one portion thereof an electricalcontact piece formed from tungsten or some similar high strengthmaterial having effective electrically conducting properties suitablefor carrying the current of an electrical arc which may impingethereupon during the opening or closing of the switch blade on a jawmember during a fault or load condition of the circuit in which theswitch is connected. This contact member may be formed by sinteringtungsten or a tungsten alloy material around the head of a copper orsimilar rivet. The rivet with its tungsten encapsulated head may then beriveted or secured through specially placed holes in the blade to theblade. When the tungsten contacts wear due to excessive arcing,theriveted contacts may be conveniently removed and replaced with newcontacts. As can be I seen, the previously described separate anddiscrete universal switch parts may be produced prior to knowing theexact requirements for any particular switch. When the exactrequirements become known, a switch maybe easily assembled to meet theserequirements merely by using the previously described interchangeableuniversal elements in a combination suitable to the switch requirements.A great cost savings may be realized by utilizing productionfacilitiesto make a large number of limited types of switch parts or membersrather than a limited number of a large variety of complete switches. Afurther cost and time savings may result because the separate universalswitch parts may be i made in large quantities rather than in piecemealfashion. Another advantage lies in the fact that should any part orportion of the overall switch fail, the necessity for replacing theentire switch is alleviated. In such a circumstance, the switch may bedisassembled if necessary and the defective portion replaced, as theswitch represents a combination of discrete universal parts whichcooperate with each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For abetter understanding of theinvention, reference may be had to the preferred embodiment exemplary ofthe invention shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a universal combination tongueterminal pad member for usein an electrical disconnect switch;

FIG. 2 shows a universal hinge member for use in an electricaldisconnect switch;

FIG. 3 shows a universal jaw member for use in an electrical disconnectswitch;

FIG. 4 shows a partially cut-away perspective view of a contact memberfor use in an electrical disconnect switch;

FIG. 5 shows a partially cut-away perspective view of another embodimentof a contact similar to the one shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a top view of the combination tongueterminalpadmember'shown in FIG. 1 bolted on an electrical insulator; r

FIG. 7 shows a top view of a combination tongueterminal pad memberbolted on a different insulator than that shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 shows a view of a combination tongueterminal pad member bolted ona different insulator than either of those shown in FIGS. 6 and 7;

shown in FIG. 3 and a single combination tongueterminal pad member suchas shown in FIG. 1 with the jaw and combination tongue-terminal padmember being oriented differently from those shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 shows the top view of the hinge assembly including'a hingemember such as shown in FIG. 2 and a combination tongue-terminal padmember, such as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 shows a hinge assembly similar to that shown in FIG. 12 but withthe hinge member and combination tongue-terminal pad member orienteddifferently with respect to each other;

FIG. 14 shows a side elevation view of broken-away portions of anelectrical disconnect-switch in the open position;

FIG. 15 shows a side elevation of another embodiment of an electricaldisconnect switch in the closed or electrically conducting position andincluding an eye hook; and

FIG. 16 shows a side elevation of another embodiment of a disconnectswitch including an arc chute and flicker blade.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawingsand FIG. 1 in particular, a combination tongue-terminal pad 10(hereinafter referred to as tongue 10" unless otherwise indicated) isshown. Tongue 10 includes a terminal pad portion 11 into which may bedrilled or placed a variety of sets of holes indicated at 12, 14 and 16,respectively. The terminal pad portion 11 of tongue 10 is adapted to befastened with bolts or similar fastening means by way of holes 12 to aninsulator such as the type known by the NEMA B.I.L. standard A-lO, A-20.The holes 14 which may comprise four in number and which are displaced45 mechanical degrees from the holes 12 are adapted to correspond tosimilar holes in insulators generally designated as A-30, 8-40 by thepreviously described standard. Openings or grooves 16 which are alignedradially with holes 14 are adapted to correspond to holes in aninsulator designated 8-50 by the previously described standard.Generally, holes 14 have 2 inches between centers, i.e., betweenoppositely disposed holes or holes which are mechanical degrees apart,holes 12 have 3 inches between centers and grooves or openings 16 have 5inches between oppositely disposed openings. The other end of tongue 10comprises a terminal pad 18 to which a conductor or lead terminal may beaffixed or fastened for example by placing bolts through the conductorto be fastened to terminal pad 18 through holes 20 or 21 and affixing anut to the end thereof. If necessary, holes 20 may be tapped and screwsor bolts may be tightened into them rather than into a separate nut. Aline of separation indicated at 22 exists between terminal pad portion11 and tongue portion 18. If no external circuit is necessary, tonguemember l0 may. be cut in any convenient 'manneralong line 22 so thatonly the terminal pad portion 11 remains. Tongue member may be comprisedof any suitable electrically conducting material but preferably hard orcold drawn copper is used. 7

Referring now to FIG. 2, a hinge member which may comprise, for example,a portion of hard or cold drawn copper material or stock bent at onepoint thereof to form a horizontal portion 32 and a vertical portion 34.Horizontal portion 32 may have holes 38 provided therein which generallyalign with holes 14 in tongue member 10. That is, the distance betweencenters for holes 38 is approximately two inches. Vertical portion 34has holes or openings 36 disposed therein for convenient purposes. Hole36a, for example, may be aligned to support the axle of a pivotallymounted knife blade, not shown. It will be noted that spring members orbushings 42 are shown disposed adjacent hole 36a for providing springtension and separation for the previously described knife blade.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a jaw portion or member is showncomprising ahorizontalportion 52 and a vertical portion 53 similar to the horizontaland vertical portions 32 and 34, respectively, of the hinge member ofFIG. 2'. Horizontal portion 52 has disposed therein holes whichgenerally align with holes 14 in the previously described tongue member10, that is, they have 2 inch centers similar to holes 38 shown in thehinge 30 of FIG. 2. Vertical portion 54 has disposed therein a hole 58which may be used to accommodate a portion of a locking mechanism forjaw piece 50. Jaw piece or member 50 has disposed thereon in region 59 acontact member 62. Jaw piece 50, like hinge 30 and tongue 10,is-preferably formed from hard or cold drawn copper by asta'mping-and-bending or similar process. The contact piece 62 ispreferably formed from some arc resistant material, such as tungsten ortungsten carbide, which may be formed by molding, sintering or similarprocess. It may be affixed or secured to jaw piece 50in region 59 bysuitable means, such as brazing, welding or some similar process or itmay be affixed thereto by a riveting process to be described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 4, one embodiment of an electrically conductingcontact piece is shown. Contact piece 70 may engage contact piece 62 ofjaw 50 as shown in, FIG. 3. when a blade upon which contact piece 70 maybe affixed engages jaw 50. Consequently, an arc may be drawn between aportion of contact 70 and contact piece 62 in jaw 50 during an openingor a closing operation of a switch which is conducting electricalcurrent or which may have a voltage difference applied betweenelectrical poles thereof. Contact piece 70 comprises a hard or colddrawn copper rivet 76 having a neck piece 72 and a head 74. A tungstencarbide or tungsten alloyed material 78 is formed around head piece 74by a suitable process such as molding, sintering or any other convenientprocess for encapsulating head 74 with the contact material 78.

In one embodiment of the invention, the neck portion 72 of rivet 76 maybe passed or assembled through a hole in a blade member of a switchblade, and then a portion of neck 72 may be formed into a rivet tosecure contact member 72 to the blade.

Referring to FIG. 5, another embodiment of an encapsulated rivet similarto that shown in FIG. 4 is depicted. In this case, rectangular rivetsection 80 comprises two or, in some instances more, spaced rivets 76each including a neck portion 72 and a head 78. A

, contact member 82 which may be tungsten carbide or some similarmaterial is formed about the heads of the in which powdered tungstenalloy material is fused into i a hardened contact portion. As was thecase with rivet contact member 70 shown in FIG. 4, the rivets maycomprise hard drawn copper rivets, the necks 76 of which are easilyriveted to a portion of a knife blade or switch member.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a tongue member 10, such asshown in FIG. 1, isshown affixed or secured to an electrical insulator 86 which may be of atype such as the A-20 type insulator previously referred to. A pluralityof bolts 88, preferably four, are fed through holes 14 in the terminalpad section 11 of tongue member 10. These bolts pass through the holes14 and are screwed into tapped corresponding holes in the insulatormember 86. The tongue member 18 is provided or available for connectionto an external electrical circuit.-

Referring now to FIG. 7, tongue member 10 is shown secured to aninsulating member 90 which may be of the type known as A-3O or 8-40 ofthe previously described standards. It will be noted that holes 14 arenot employed for fastening purposes in this case, but rather, holes 12have bolts 92 therein-disposed which may have a different length,diameter and thread pitch than bolts 14 shown in FIG. 6. Bolts 92 passthrough the holes 12 in the terminal pad section 11 of tongue member 10and into tapped holes in the previously described insulator member 90.Again, a plurality of bolts, preferably four bolts is used, but anynumber less than four but at least one may be employed to secure tonguemember 10 to insulator 90. It will be noted that holes 14 are availableor free for other purposes and, in this case, holes 14 may have threadedinserts pressed or tapped therein so that other members, previouslydiscussed, may be secured to tongue member 10.

Referring now to FIG. 8, still another combination including tonguemember 10 is shown in which it is secured to an insulator member 94which may be of the With respect to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, it will berecalled that a universal tongue member may be fastened to threedifferent kinds of electrical insulators each having different holesizes, thread pitches and hole orientations. It should also be realizedthat each of the tongue members 10in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 may be alternatelydisposed in four other positions or orientations, each of which is 90mechanical degrees displaced from the preceding one. For example, tonguemember B0 in FIG. 6 may be rotated 90 clockwise, clockwise or 90counterclockwise from the position shown and then fastened. In eachcase, the holes 14 will align with similar holes in the insulator 86 sothat the tongue member 16 may be secured by means of fastening means orbolts 88 to the insulator 86. The same principle applies for tonguemember 10 in FIGS. 7 and 8, respectively. In FIG. 8, hole 14 may betapped or receive a tapped insert so that other parts or hardwareassociated with or forming part of a disconnect switch may be fastenedto tongue member 10 without directly fastening the hardware or parts toinsulator 94. Also in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 the'tongue 10 may be stacked inmultiples to increase the current rating of the terminal.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a jaw assembly 98 for an electrical disconnectswitch is shown. It will be noted that tongue 10 having a terminal pad11 and a tongue member 18 is disposed upon an insulator 86 similar tothat arrangement shown in FIG. 6. In addition, complementary jaw members50 and 50A which are mirror images of one another are shown disposedupon the terminal pad section I] of tongue member 10 by bolts 88 and 88Ain holes 60 and 60A in the jaw sections or members 50 and 50A,respectively, so that the bolts 88 and 88A may pass through tonguemember 10 into associated aligned holes in conductor 86 whereupon theymay be tightened to secure the assembly 98 so that jaw members 50 and50A are tightly secured to tongue member I and electrical insulator 86.It will be noted in this case that the bolts for securing the jaw piece50 to tongue member are the same bolts which secure tongue member 10 totapped holes in insulator 86. It should be recalled in this case thatany one of the two jaw members 50 or 50A may be omitted from theassembly of FIG. 9 or may be rotated 90 in either direction or I80degrees to realign the direction of the jaw pieces 50 and 50A. Inaddition, jaw pieces 50 and 50A may be interchanged to place thevertical portions of jaw pieces 50 and 50A closer together. In anotherembodiment, two jaw pieces 50A or two jaw pieces 50 rather than one ofeach may be employed in a particular application similar to that shownin FIG. 9.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a jaw assembly 100 similar in many respects tothe jaw assembly 98 shown in FIG. 9 is shown. In this case, jaw piece 50is moved to the other side of tongue member 10 and secured by means ofbolts 88 through holes 60 in the jaw piece 50 and holes 14 (not shown)in tongue member 10 to the insulator 86. Of course, if larger insulatorssuch as 90 or 94 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, respectively, are used, thebolts for attaching jaw member 50 to tongue member 10 will not be thesame.

Referring now to FIG. 11, an alternate switch jaw assembly 101 is shownin which the tongue member 10 has been rotated counterclockwise 90degrees with respect to jaw member 50. Bolts or fastening means 88 areassembled or passed through holes 60 in the jaw member 50 andcorresponding aligned holes 14 (not shown) in the tongue member 10 intotapped holes (not shown) in insulator 86.

Referring ,now to FIG. I2, a top view of a switch hinge assembly I02 isshown in which a tongue member 10 is affixed or secured to an insulator94 by means of four bolts 96 which pass through grooves or openings 16in the terminal pad portion 11 oftongue member 10 into correspondingtapped holes in insulator member 94. By tightening bolts 96, tonguemember I0 may be secured to the top of insulator member 94. A hingemember 30 is disposed on the terminal pad portion 11 of tongue member I0so that the previously described flat portion 32 abuts the upper surfaceof terminal pad I I. Bolts 88 are assembled through holes 38 in thehorizontal portion 32 of the hinge member 30. These bolts are tightenedinto tapped holes 14 (not shown) in terminal pad I] of tongue 10.

Referring now to FIG. 13, an alternate switch hinge assembly 104 isshown in which a tongue member I0 is fastened to an insulator member 94by providing four bolts 96 which pass through openings 16 intocorresponding holes in the insulator member 94. A hinge member 30 issecured to tongue member 10 by feeding or screwing bolts 88 throughholes 38 into tapped holes 14 (not shown) in hinge member 10. It will benoted that the protrusion of the tongue portion 18 in FIG. 13 isopposite to that of the tongue portion shown in FIG. 12. With respect toFIGS. 12 and 13, the tongue members 10 may be oriented in at least threeother dispositions, namely 90 counterclockwise, 90 clockwise and 180away from the disposition shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, respectively. Inaddition, hinge members 30 shown similar to the arrangement of theplural jaw members 50 and 50A in which said jaw members are showndisposed in FIG. 9.

Referring now to FIG. 14, a complete knife switch assembly 106 is shown.Kinfe blade 108 is pivotally disposed in hinge member 30 at one end 112of knife blade 108 by a pin or bolt 114 about which is disposed washersor spring members 36a. A nut 40 is shown for securing the blade member108 to the bolt 114 at the vertical portion 34 of binge member 30.Horizontal portion 32 of hinge member 30 may be fastened to any of thepreviously described types of insulators. The mid portion 110 of blade108 has disposed therein two holes 116 and 120. Hole 116 is disposed toreceive an extension arm 118 of a mechanical or electrical actuatingmember 119. Member I19 may cause extension arm 118 to move blade 108into or out of electrical contact or engagement with jaw members 50. The

other end 121 of blade 108 has placed therein holes 122, I24 and 126. Inaddition, a generally transverse contact array 128 is shown which maymake positive electric contact with portions of jaw member 50 when blade108 is actuated to a close position with respect to jaw 50. Longitudinalslots or holes 130 which provide for three independent contacts I28a,l28b and 128 c on blade 108 are also provided. These grooves or slots130 are provided for other purposes also, such as, enhanced aircirculation in the region of end 121 of blade 108 and when currentratings demand extra contact points. Blade 108 has disposed thereinsuitable holes in which the tungsten contacts or may be disposed formaking initial contact with or supporting an arc between blade I08 andcontact 62 on jaw section 50 when blade 108 is closed on jaw 50 ofhigher electrical potential or when blade 108 is withdrawn from jaw 50.It is not envisioned that of contacts 70 and 80 need both be present onthe same blade at the same time nor in the embodiment shown in FIG. 14.However, since switch member 108 may be a double throw type switch,contacts 80 may make initial contact with a similar jaw 50, not shown,but disposed to the left of hinge member 30 in FIG. 14. Naturally,contact members 70 and 80 may be interchanged or completely omitted ifdesired depending on the fault closing rating of the switch. Forexample, a single circular contact member 70 may be disposed on blade108 rather than the two shown in FIG. 14. Alternately, a plurality ofcontacts greater than two may also be used.

Referring now to FIG. 15, switch structure 132 having a blade member108a is shown in the closed position. A hinge member 30 is shown on theleft the horizontal portion 32 of which is bolted to a tongue meber andan electrical insulator 86. Bolt 88 passes through holes'38 andhorizontal portion 32 of hinge 30 and through aligned holes 14 in tonguemember 10 to be tightened into threaded holes 135 in insulators 86. Ahinge pin 114 is shown disposed between blade sec- .tion 108a and hinge30 so that bladesection 108 may be rotated pivotally about pin 114 inhinge 30. Disposed opposite the other end of blade 108a is a jaw member50. Holes 60 in jaw member 50are aligned with holes 14 in tongue member10. Bolt 88 passes through the holes 60, and 14, respectively, and intotapped holes 135 in insulator 86. Adjacent end 1210 of blade member 1080is provided an eye hook 136 which is pivotal about a pin 138 disposed inhole 1220. Two

stud members 140 and 142 are disposed in holes 124a so that neck portion14] of eye hook 136 may not rotate about axle 138 other than through anarc limited by the placement of the studs or stopping members 140 and142. Lock member 144 is fastened by a suitable mounting means disposedin the previously described 1 hole 58 of jaw member 50 so thatlockmember 144 maybe releasably secured by engagement with horizontal studmember 1 42 when blade 108 has been completely engaged with jaw 50. Inthis arrangement, blade 1080 may be freed or released by forcing eyehook member 136 upwardly with a hook, stick or some similar means suchthat neck 141 cams against a portion of lock means 144 to cause stud orhorizontal locking member 142 to be freed therefrom. Spring 146 biaseslock member 144 in a clockwise direction about the axis of the hole 58.

Referring now to FIG. 16, a. switch assembly 147 is shown. Switchassembly 147 comprises a blade, 10% disposed between a hinge and a jawmember 50. Disposed adjacent a portion of blade 10812 is a flicker orauxiliary blade 150 pivotally secured to blade 10812 in a convenientmanner. A portion of flicker blade 150 is disposed in an arc chute 148when bladel08b has been closed upon jaw 50. Then when blade 108b isdisengaged from jaw 50, a sufficient time thereafter, flicker blade 150will draw an arc in arc chute 148 in a conventional manner on a loadcircuit. It should be noted that the hook stick switch of FIG. 15 can beconverted to an interrupting switch of FIG. 16 by the addition of thearc chute 148 and flicker blade 150 with all other parts remaining thesame thereby providing a new flexibility in field application.

It is to be understood that tongue member 10 such as shown in FIG. 1 maybe disposed in any of the structures or assemblies previously describedin multiple, tandemly mounted fashion so that a larger amount ofelectrical current may be carried by a plurality of stacked tonguemembers. In other arrangements, the tongue members may be arrangedgenerally radially in a spoke-like construction from a single insulatorso that many electricalcircuits may be interconnected toone portion of adisconnect switch. In other embodiments, stacked or spaced tonguemembersmay be provided with spacing washers therebetween such that airor a cooling fluid may circulate between horizontal portions of a stackof tongue members 10. It is also to be understood that any suitable arcresistant contact material may be used for the arcing contacts shown inFIGS. 4

and 5. It is also to be understood that the particular shapes of thearcing contacts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are not limiting and other shapesof convenience may be used where desired. It is also to be understoodthat the arcing contacts may employ more than two rivet means in aparticular application and the rivet means may be disposed in anyconvenient configuration. It is also understood that conventional arcingcontacts may be used with any of the switch assemblies shown in theembodiments of the invention and that novel arcing contacts per se suchas shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 may be used with known types of overall switchassemblies. It is also to be understood that the various switch parts ormembers such as the contact members, the jaw members, the hinge membersand the tongue members, may be used interchangeably in various aridsundry combinations or arrangements to provide a multitude of switchconfigurations and that one aspect of the invention is the flexibilityor versatility of switch constructions from a relatively few types ofswitch assembly components. It is also to be understood that the typesof insulators described may be interchanged with any suitable insulatingsupport means including, but not limited to, procelain insulators. It isalso to be understood that the electrically conducting members need notnecessarily be hard or cold drawn copper, as previously described, butmay be other suitable types of electrically conducting material whichcan be assembled and formed in the manner previously discussed. Aluminumalloy materials, steel alloy materials and copper alloy materials aresuitable in many instances. It is also to be understood that not all ofthe previously described switch components may be employedsimultaneously but that the tongue members, jaw members, hinge membersor contact members may be employed in various sub-combinations or withprior art switch parts or members.

The teachings of the present application have many advantages. Oneadvantage is the fact that a switch may be interconnected to any numberof electrical busses or cables in an electrical distribution system bymerely.

changing the various previously described assembly components in thefield. Another advantage lies in the fact that most modifications toswitches can be done in the field rather than in the factory or shop. Inaddition, a switch can easily be converted from a non-fault type switchto a fault type switch by the mere addition of the previously describedelectrical contact tips on the blades of the switch. Another advantagelies in the fact that expensive alloy copper or age-hardenable copper isnot required for all switch blades of the disclosed switch constructionsince brazing is not required for attaching the arc contacts to theblade of a fault closing type switch. Because brazing or other forms ofheating are not required, there is no annealing effect on the blades,and relative inexpensive cold drawn copper blades have therequiredstrength. Another advantage lies in the fact that if the requiredcurrent rating or power rating of the switch is increased in aparticular application, the switch may be more easily adapted toaccommodate the change merely by adding another blade to an easilyadaptable hinge assembly and jaw assembly. Another advantage lies in thefact that the switch may be easily converted from a non-interruptingtype to an interrupting type. Another advantage lies in the fact that arelatively large multitude of specially designed switch parts membersneed not be manufactured to meet the wide range of requirementsnecessary for various types of switches. Another advantage lies in thefact that the amount of brazing, welding, casting or relativelypermanent affixing of switch members to each other and to insulators islimited or eliminated by the use of bolts and tapped holes in thevarious members and insulators. Another advantage lies in the fact thatthe switch members may be fabricated or formed from sheets ofelectrically conducting material rather than by forging or molding orcasting which are more expensive. Another advantage lies in the factthat should any small portion of the switch member require replacementfor some reason the switch may be disassembled on the site and thatportion removed and replaced with a similar part or portion rather thanrequiring the entire switch to be replaced or to be removed to a shoparea for repair. Another advantage lies in the fact that the previouslymentioned arc contact pieces may be replaced without the need forreplacing the entire blade or jaw member upon which it is disposed.

l claim as my invention:

1. An electrical disconnect switch comprising an insulating supportmember having a fastening surface thereon where an electricallyconducting tongueterminal pad member may be secured thereto, saidsurface having a first set of spaced locations thereon at which saidtongue-terminal pad member may be secured to said support member, anelectrically conducting tongue-terminal pad member secured to saidsurface at any of said first set of spaced locations, saidtongue-terminal pad member being selectively securable to anothersupport member also having a fastening surface thereon said surface ofsaid another member being characterized as having a set of spacedlocations for fastening purposes which differ in spatial orientationrelative to each other from said first set of spaced locations, saidtongue-terminal pad member being securable on said another supportmember at said different spaced locations.

2. An electrical disconnect switch comprising:

an insulating support member having characteristically spaced openingsfor receiving fastening means;

a blade member;

an electrically conducting tongue-terminal pad member removably securedto said support member, said tongue-terminal pad member beingcharacterized as being selectively securable to another insulatingsupport member having characteristically spaced openings for securingfastening means which are different in spatial orientation than saidlatter spaced opening; a separate electrically conducting hinge memberfor a switch pole disposed upon the terminal pad portion of saidtongue-terminal pad member; and

fastening means which secures said hinge member, said tongue-terminalpad member and said support member together to form a unitary structurefor supporting said switch blade member and providing an electricallyconducting path from said blade member to an external electrical circuitthrough said tongue-terminal pad member.

3. An electrical disconnect switch comprising:

an insulating support member;

a blade member havingf characteristically spaced openings for receivingfastening means;

an electrically conducting terminal pad member removably secured to saidsupport member said terminal pad member being characterized as beingselectively securable to another insulating support member havingcharacteristically spaced openings for securing means which aredifferent in spatial orientation than said latter spaced openings;

a separate electrically conducting hinge member for said switch blademember disposed upon said terminal pad member; and

fastening means which secures said hinge member,

said terminal pad member and said support member together to form aunitary structure for supporting said switch blade member.

4. An electrical disconnect switch of the type comprising:

an insulating support member having characteris' tically spaced openingsfor receiving fastening means;

a blade member;

an electrically conducting tongue-terminal pad member removably securedto said support member, saidtongue-terminal pad member beingcharacterized as being selectively securable to another insulatingsupport member having characteristically spaced openings for securingfastening means which are different in spatial orientation than saidlatter spaced opening;

a separate electrically conducting jaw member disposed upon the terminalpad portion of said tongue-terminal pad member upon which said blademember may be closed; and

fastening means which secures said jaw member, said tongue-terminal padmember and said support member together to form a unitary structure forbeing engaged by said switch blade member and for providing anelectrically conducting path from said blade member to an externalelectrical circuit through said tongue-terminal pad member.

5. The combination as claimed in claim 8 wherein said jaw member hasdisposed thereon a separate contact piece comprising a generallytungsten alloy material formed around the head portion thereof.

6. An electrical disconnect switch of the type com prising:

a blade member;

an insulating member having characteristically spaced openings forreceiving fastening means;

an electrically conducting terminal pad member removably secured to saidsupport member, said terminal pad member being characterized as beingselectively securable to another insulating support member havingcharacteristically spaced openings for securing means which aredifferent in spatial orientation than said latter spaced openings;

a separate electrically conducting jaw member disposed upon saidterminal pad member upon which said blade member may be closed; and

fastening means which secures said jaw member, said terminal pad memberand said support member together to form a unitary structure for beingengaged by said blade member.

7. The combination as claimed in claim 9 wherein said jaw member hasdisposed thereon a separate contact piece comprising a generallytugsten-copper alloy material formed around the head portion thereof.

1. An electrical disconnect switch comprising an insulating supportmember having a fastening surface thereon where an electricallyconducting tongue-terminal pad member may be secured thereto, saidsurface having a first set of spaced locations thereon at which saidtongue-terminal pad member may be secured to said support member, anelectrically conducting tongueterminal pad member secured to saidsurface at any of said first set of spaced locations, saidtongue-terminal pad member being selectively securable to anothersupport member also having a fastening surface thereon said surface ofsaid another member being characterized as having a set of spacedlocations for fastening purposes which differ in spatial orientationrelative to each other from said first set of spaced locations, saidtongue-terminal pad member being securable on said another supportmember at said different spaced locations.
 2. An electrical disconnectswitch comprising: an insulating support member havingcharacteristically spaced openings for receiving fastening means; ablade member; an electrically conducting tongue-terminal pad memberremovably secured to said support member, said tongue-terminal padmember being characterized as being selectively securable to anotherinsulating support member having characteristically spaced openings forsecuring fastening means which are different in spatial orientation thansaid latter spaced opening; a separate electrically conducting hingemember for a switch pole disposed upon the terminal pad portion of saidtongue-terminal pad member; and fastening means which secures said hingemember, said tongue-terminal pad member and said support member togetherto form a unitary structure for supporting said switch blade member andproviding an electrically conducting path from said blade member to anexternal electrical circuit through said tongue-terminal pad member. 3.An electrical disconnect switch comprising: an insulating supportmember; a blade member having characteristically spaced openings forreceiving fastening means; an electrically conducting terminal padmember removably secured to said support member said terminal pad memberbeing characteRized as being selectively securable to another insulatingsupport member having characteristically spaced openings for securingmeans which are different in spatial orientation than said latter spacedopenings; a separate electrically conducting hinge member for saidswitch blade member disposed upon said terminal pad member; andfastening means which secures said hinge member, said terminal padmember and said support member together to form a unitary structure forsupporting said switch blade member.
 4. An electrical disconnect switchof the type comprising: an insulating support member havingcharacteristically spaced openings for receiving fastening means; ablade member; an electrically conducting tongue-terminal pad memberremovably secured to said support member, said tongue-terminal padmember being characterized as being selectively securable to anotherinsulating support member having characteristically spaced openings forsecuring fastening means which are different in spatial orientation thansaid latter spaced opening; a separate electrically conducting jawmember disposed upon the terminal pad portion of said tongue-terminalpad member upon which said blade member may be closed; and fasteningmeans which secures said jaw member, said tongue-terminal pad member andsaid support member together to form a unitary structure for beingengaged by said switch blade member and for providing an electricallyconducting path from said blade member to an external electrical circuitthrough said tongue-terminal pad member.
 5. The combination as claimedin claim 8 wherein said jaw member has disposed thereon a separatecontact piece comprising a generally tungsten alloy material formedaround the head portion thereof.
 6. An electrical disconnect switch ofthe type comprising: a blade member; an insulating member havingcharacteristically spaced openings for receiving fastening means; anelectrically conducting terminal pad member removably secured to saidsupport member, said terminal pad member being characterized as beingselectively securable to another insulating support member havingcharacteristically spaced openings for securing means which aredifferent in spatial orientation than said latter spaced openings; aseparate electrically conducting jaw member disposed upon said terminalpad member upon which said blade member may be closed; and fasteningmeans which secures said jaw member, said terminal pad member and saidsupport member together to form a unitary structure for being engaged bysaid blade member.
 7. The combination as claimed in claim 9 wherein saidjaw member has disposed thereon a separate contact piece comprising agenerally tugsten-copper alloy material formed around the head portionthereof.